Ramirez continues to impress at home, Mariners edge Athletics

Ramirez pitched six effective innings and Yuniesky Betancourt
hit a key home run as the Seattle Mariners posted a 4-3 victory
over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

Kenji Johjima hit a two-run homer and Ben Broussard also drove
in a run for Seattle, which has won two straight following a
seven-game losing streak.

Ramirez (6-3) remains perfect at home, going 6-for-6 in starts
at Safeco Field with a 2.63 ERA. It's the complete opposite of
his road record, where he is 0-3 with a 13.72 ERA in five
outings.

"At home, I'm making the pitch in the big situation, like
today," Ramirez said. "However on the road, like my last start,
I'm not able to do that which turns into a big inning, and
overall it turns into a loss."

Against Oakland, the lefthander allowed three runs, six hits and
five walks to win four of his last five decisions.

After Ramirez left the game the Mariners' bullpen took over.
Chris Reitsma, Sean Green, George Sherrill and rookie Mark Lowe
all combined to hold Oakland to one hit over the next 1 2/3
innings before All-Star closer J.J. Putz entered the game with
two on and two out in the eighth.

"The bullpen pulled together," Seattle manager John McLaren
said. "That was good to see."

Putz, who leads the American League in saves, struck out pinch
hitter Jack Cust to end the threat. In the ninth, the 6-5,
250-pound stopper worked around a two-out walk to Nick Swisher
to earn his 30th save in 31 chances. He had just blown his
first save opportunity of the season Wednesday vs. the Texas
Rangers.

"I wasn't that worried about it," said Putz of taking the mound
after failing to convert his last save opportunity. "It's just
one game. You move on and worry about tomorrow. I was more
worried about us turning this (losing streak) around."

With the game knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth,
Betancourt hit a 1-0 pitch from A's starter Chad Gaudin over the
center field fence to give Seattle the lead.

"I knew I hit it well," Betancourt said through an interpreter.
"But, I thought it was going to go off the wall since it was on
a line."

The 27-year-old Ramirez was tagged for his three runs in the
second inning before settling down.

In the top of the frame, Mike Piazza singled and one out later
moved to second on a walk to Dan Johnson. After Marco Scutaro
hit a base hit up the middle to load the bases, Donnie Murphy
belted a double to the center field wall, clearing the bases to
give Oakland a 3-0 lead.

However, the Mariners responded a half-inning later.

After Adrian Beltre hit a leadoff double and moved to third on a
flyout, Richie Sexson walked before Broussard's sacrifice fly
cut the Mariners' deficit to 3-1. Johjima followed by hitting a
1-0 pitch from Gaudin over the left field wall to even the
score at 3-3.

Gaudin (8-6) allowed four runs, four hits and a walk in eight
innings to lose his third straight decision. The righthander,
who struck out seven, has yielded at least four runs in each of
his last four starts, including five runs apiece in his previous
three outings.

"Compared to the last few starts, I really take a positive note
out of this one," Gaudin said. "I think I pitched well tonight.
I'm happy with it. A couple bad pitches, but it happens."

ALAT SEATTLE - SCORING UPDATESOLO HOME RUN BY YUNIESKY BETANCOURT (5) TO LEFT CENTER WITH 1 OUT IN THE 5TH OFF CHAD GAUDIN.CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 3, SEATTLE 4DUE UP FOR SEATTLE: I SUZUKI (.344, 0-FOR-2)